By Annabel Wykes
You’ve probably heard of cortisol - the ‘stress hormone.’ But what exactly does it do, and how can we manage it naturally? At MEDAHUMAN, we’re diving into the science behind stress and sharing how CBD, adaptogens, and smart lifestyle choices can help you stay balanced.
What Is Cortisol and Why Does It Matter?
Stress is the body’s response to any demand or challenge, real or perceived. While a bit of stress can sharpen your focus and performance, too much can tip into distress; taking a toll on both mental and physical health. At the centre of this stress response is cortisol.
Cortisol is a hormone released by your adrenal glands in response to signals from the brain’s HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis). When a stressor appears, your hypothalamus triggers a domino effect: it releases CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone), which tells the pituitary gland to send out ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), which then signals your adrenal glands to produce cortisol.
Cortisol floods your system, raising your heart rate, blood pressure, and alertness to help you deal with the challenge. Once the stress passes, cortisol levels should return to normal. This regulation is supported by the endocannabinoid system, which helps shut off the stress response and bring your body back to baseline.
But when cortisol stays high - whether from chronic stress, poor sleep, or lifestyle imbalances - the system can become dysregulated, contributing to a range of health issues from anxiety and insomnia to high blood pressure and lowered immunity.
How to Naturally Lower Cortisol Levels
Understanding your stress response is the first step. The good news? There are simple, natural ways to support your body’s ability to regulate cortisol.
Lifestyle choices like daily movement, nutrient-rich foods, sleep hygiene, and mindfulness, can significantly impact your stress levels. And nature offers powerful tools in the form of adaptogens, minerals, and cannabinoids.
Sleep and Cortisol: Finding Balance Naturally
Sleep is essential for repairing the body and rebalancing hormones. Cortisol and melatonin (the ‘sleep hormone’) work in a daily rhythm: melatonin helps you fall asleep at night, while cortisol naturally rises in the morning to wake you up.
But modern life often disrupts this cycle. Late-night screens, irregular sleep schedules, eating just before bed and stress can throw your cortisol rhythm off balance - making it harder to fall and stay asleep.
That’s where nature can help. Our Night Mushroom Superblend combines calming Ashwagandha and Magnesium, both of which have been shown to support deeper, more restorative sleep by increasing NREM (non-REM) sleep and reducing cortisol levels. This deep rest helps bring your body back into equilibrium.
Recovery, Immunity, and Cortisol Regulation
Your immune system and cortisol are closely connected. Cortisol helps manage inflammation, a key part of the healing process. But when cortisol is out of balance, inflammation can become chronic; contributing to fatigue, slower recovery, and illness.
Fueling your body with anti-inflammatory ingredients can support recovery and immunity. Our Recover Mushroom Superblend includes turmeric and ginger - two time-tested botanicals with powerful antioxidant effects. It also features Lion’s Mane mushroom, known for supporting brain health and reducing neuroinflammation.This powerful blend of ingredients give our bodies the necessary support to regulate the complex interplay of stress, inflammation, immunity and recovery.
A good place to start when seeking to naturally boost recovery and immunity is being mindful of what we fuel our bodies with. Like a car’s engine, the wrong type of fuel will leave us feeling sluggish, weak and pretty stationary. However, if we mindfully look after our body, it will look after us.
Can CBD Help Lower Cortisol?
The endocannabinoid system plays a key role in helping your body return to balance after stress and CBD can support that process.
CBD (cannabidiol), a natural compound derived from hemp, interacts with receptors in your nervous system to help regulate the HPA axis and reduce cortisol levels. By promoting a sense of calm and reducing overstimulation, CBD can help your body exit “fight or flight” mode and enter a more restful state.
Incorporating CBD products into our increasingly fast lifestyles helps to restore internal calm amongst the external chaos.
Find Your Calm with MEDAHUMAN
Looking to naturally manage your cortisol levels? Explore our CBD blends and adaptogenic formulas designed to support stress, sleep, and recovery, because wellness starts from within.